Speaker Biographies

Geraldine Namirembe Bitamizire

Geraldine Namirembe Bitamizire is a Ugandan educator and politician. She is the current Minister of Education and Sports in the Ugandan Cabinet. She is also the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Mpigi District Women in the Ugandan Parliament.

Her extensive career in education has spanned over four decades. Between 1971 until 1973, she served as a Director of the East African Harbors Corporation, part of the first East African Community. She also served as the Head Teacher of Tororo Girls School from 1971 until 1974. Between 1974 and 1979, she served as a Senior Education Officer, in the Uganda Ministry of Education. In 1979, she was appointed Minister of Education, serving in that capacity until 1980. From 1981 until 1996, Minister Bitamizire was the Deputy Chairperson of the Teaching Service Commission. In April 1996, the she was elected Member of Parliament. She was appointed Minister of State for Primary Education in 1999, serving in that capacity until 2005 when she was appointed Minister of Education and Sports.

Born in 1941, Minister Bitamizire has a Diploma, Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Education Management from Makerere University and has been promoting Women’s Rights and Girls’ Education for many years. She was the National Chairperson of the Uganda Girl Guides Association in the 1980s. She was a member of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women from 1998 to 2001 and is a founding member of Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE).